At the Teddy Bear Clinic on April 18, Newberg High School Teacher Kiana Pigao’s Medical Sciences Class had an opportunity to experience what it would be like to work on a patient — or a patient’s best friend.
Pigao and her NHS students visited Dundee Elementary kinders and first-graders for the project. The older students took vitals on their teddy bears, such as checking heartbeats and temperatures and measuring heights and weights.
“This clinic provided my students with an opportunity to practice their patient intake and communication skills they have been working on all year on low-risk patients (aka, the stuffed animals),” Pigao said.
Not only did the older students have the chance to practice skills for a possible career path, but the activity also helped the younger students, NHS junior Novalee Johnstone explained.
“We used their teddy bears to take vitals and made sure they felt safe, so when they are in a medical environment, they will feel safe,” said Johnstone, who plans to be a labor and delivery doctor.
Pigao said that it is the first time she has offered students this opportunity, and it offers more than skill-building for future doctors like Johnstone. It gives them a peek at the future.
“Many of the students plan to go into the medical field through one of the many different pathways,” Pigao said. “By giving them opportunities to learn skills that are consistent with industry practices, we are giving them first-hand experience on what it might look like to work in that field. We have such talented students who have goals to achieve big things in the medical field, and I am so thankful that I get to continue to play a part in providing even a few of the many stepping stones for them.”
Each student received a certificate congratulating their bear for completing the clinic, so they can feel a sense of accomplishment. In addition, First-Grade Teacher Joy Senff said her students learned valuable career and academic skills.
“I think this was a great teamwork exercise, learning to take instructions, learning to listen,” she said. “We also have been practicing measuring, and they measured their stuffed animals, so that ties in with what we’re doing with math.”
First-grader Jace Johnson said that the exercise was also fun.
“It was really fun because I got to use tools and I got to learn about Big Bear, that he had a heartbeat and weighed 200 grams,” Jace explained.
More high school students and many more elementary school students could have the same educational experience next year and for many years to come.
“I hope to make this an annual thing and to partner with other elementary teachers in our district,” Pigao said.